More
Jamaican Disco, Boogie & Modern Soul for you. If you enjoyed the
first two compilations here
and here
- ''The Reggae Disco Connection Part 3'' will take you even deeper
into the world of Jamaican Disco, Boogie & Modern Soul. This time
I am trying to shed a light on 16 rare or overlooked songs out of
Jamaica or from the Jamaican diaspora (UK, US, Canada) - again with a
focus on Disco, Boogie, Modern Soul + a touch of Jamaican Funk &
Soul. Most songs have either being recorded on the island, pressed on
Jamaican labels and/or feature JA musicians. But compared to the
first two compilations which still had a strong Reggae Feeling to
most of the songs - this compilations is more or less straight Disco
& Funk - often the accent of a singer being the only thing
distinctive Jamaican...

I
am starting this compilation with Africa
by Cedric Brooks. Originally released on the 1979 album Sabebe
by the Light Of Saba. ''Africa'' has some majestic horns arrangement,
a sweet groovin' flute + a thumping funky bass line on top of a heavy
steppers rhythm. But the arrangement of the song make it more akin to
the disco sound than what is generally known as ''Steppers'' in
Reggae. I would say, in Reggae music ''Rockers'' (yet another style
of Reggae) heralded the militant hard (and fast) drum shots, and
''Steppers'' added the "four to the floor" bass drum beat.
Steppers can be slow, it's the beat more than the speed of it. I'm
sure some of you readers might come up with a better description
though. I usually rather feel the music - and as I don't play an
instrument myself or have any theoretical background in music - it's
rather difficult for me to put it into technical characteristics.
Back to Cedric Brooks. "Cedric 'Im'
Brooks’ is arguably the most innovative saxophone players in all of
reggae music. His stunning fusion of jazz, Afro-beat, funk and Latin
with reggae sets him apart as a true pioneer, radically altering the
limits and expectations of what reggae music could sound like. (...)
In the late 60ies Brooks spent a brief period in Philadelphia,
absorbing the music of some of his greatest influences, including
Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, and Sun Ra. He was on the point of
joining Sun Ra when the birth of his second daughter necessitated his
return to Jamaica. Despite reggae being in full swing on the island,
Cedric took up Sun Ra's challenge by moving beyond reggae's
rocksteady beat by experimenting with free jazz and poetry, African
robes and dancers. And so he formed his group The Light of Saba,
taking leads from Hugh Masekela and Fela Kuti creating a
multi-cultural 'world music' way ahead of its time. His original
albums sell for a lot of money - but if you have the chance get a
copy of the 2003 released album The
Magical Light of Saba, which collects 18 Of Cedric Brooks' most
exhilarating tracks blending African and US, Cuban and other West
Indian influences - calypso and funk, rhumba, jazz bebop, nyabinghi
and even '70s disco - on top of a foundation of sunny, warm reggae
music. For further reading check out this
great article on Cedric Brooks which originally
appeared in the Wax
Poetics Issue 29 in 2008.
Unfortunately, while writing this blog post, I got to know that
Cedric 'Im' Brooks passed away on
May
3rd 2013in
New York. May he rest in peace. Track #2
is Loosen
Up by Chalice. A dubby reggae disco song with a slow rolling bass
line and some bubbling synths. Taken from their 1981 album Blasted.
On track #4 we got Bionic
Encounter by Joe Gibbs & The Professionals. ''Taken from the
classic 1979 Dub album Majestic
Dub, ''Bionic Encounter'' is in fact an off the wall yet
admirable interpretation of the Salsoul Orchestra’s 1977 smash
Runaway
and is not a cover of Getaway,
as many people tend to think (I listened to both on loop for about an
hour and I conclusively say that it is ''Runaway''). Not a dub or
special ''reggae disco'' version, the track is a soft and stripped
back disco song that is strongly reminiscent of the works of producer
Patrick
Adams (the wigged-out, stoned keyboards, heavy breathing - that
sort of thing)" (via Days
Are Numbers). Track #8 is the Modern Soul anthem Do
This World A Favour by Beres Hammond (and produced by Joe
Gibbs). Beres Hammond has a fantastic voice, and this track is one
of his most soulful. With it's strong songwriting ''Do This World A
Favour'' is an impassioned plea to live right. Taken from his 1979
album Just
A Man. Check out the uptempo song Music
Is A Positive Vibration from the same album, which I shared on the Reggae
Disco Connection Part 1 in 2012. It has a four-on-the-floor beat,
funky bass, horns, and strings... Instant favourite! Next we have
track #9 the GLP Band's Last
Funk - which some of you might know from Originals
Volume Three on Claremont
56. There is hardly any info available on the GLP Band. I assume they are the studio band/backing band of
Bevin Fagan, who was most well known as the lead singer and producer
of one of the UK's biggest reggae acts, Matumbi.
Yet in his time he was involved with and influenced by all sorts of
music that was going on in South London during the seventies and
early eighties, even being part of a prog rock band named
'Stonehenge' at one point in his youth. In the late 70ies he formed
''Guardian Angel'' - which was a roots reggae project with his wife
(or maybe sister) Sylvia Fagan on vocals. They put out a few lovers
rock type singles, among which the ''Last Funk'' stands out as the
most leftfield and hard hitting of all. Serious Disco Funk. Track
#10, the Guardian Angel's Last
Funk is the vocal version of the previous song. It can be found
on Woman
At The Well, the only longplayer released by Guardian Angel in
1980. I am ending this compilation with a beautiful cover
of ''Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'' by Demos Cates. An 1980 Island Jazzy
Disco rendition of Mcfadden & Whiteheads's all-time classic Ain't
No Stopping Us Now...

If
you enjoyed the two Palmwine Grooves & Disco compilations I
shared earlier here and here
- then ''Safari Disco Club'' could just be the right follow-up for
you! A selection of some of my favourite African Disco & Soul
songs + a few disco flavored grooves from other tropikal regions
thrown in for good measure.

I
am starting this compilation withDouala By Night from JM
Tim & Foty, who were a duo from Cameroon (playing together from
1977 to 1982). ''Douala by Night'' can be found on their debut album. With
its disco
beat and funky guitar riff, the song
was an instant hit. ''Some
25 years later, Jean Marie Tiam aka Tim was in the studio in Paris
working on a solo album (The duo had disbanded in 1982 but Tim had
continued on a solo career) on which he planned to include a remake
of ''Douala
by Night''.
Tim was shocked when the studio musicians informed him that the song
was not his and that it belonged to American Hip Hop artist Missy
Elliott who had released the song under the title Dog in Heatin her Timberland-produced 2002 album ''So
Addictive''. (...) Tim filed a
lawsuit against Moses Timberland in 2007 and on January 15, 2010, an
out of court settlement was reached between the two, with Tim
entitled to royalties beginning from 2009, along with a small
monetary compensation. Tim says he was not really interested in the
money and simply wanted to ''restore the historical truth [and] let
intellectual honesty and intellectual property triumph.'' (via
Bakwa Magazine) Track #5 is
Ray Munnings' Funky Nassau - a ''superb disco/boogie
version from 1979 of the classic Bahamas Funk song Funky Nassau by the Beginning Of The End.
Ray Munnings, who wrote and recorded the original version as part of
the group Beginning of the End in 1973, decided to rework his monster
hit a few years later for a new audience and produced this
sensational rendering, replacing the signature horns and Caribbean
percusssion with fierce moog synths and super long funky drum breaks
which made it hugely popular on both the boogie and breakbeat scenes''
(via Phonica Records). Personally, I am a bigger fan of the original version, but I think
some people, especially those who are feeling "the boogie",
will enjoy this discofied version with its long drum break + some
slappin' synth bass! Get a tasty reissue of the orginal 12inch here! After a full dose of
African & Tropikal Disco - I am ending this compilation with
track #15: Africa - A.I.E. (12inch version). This is the Italo Disco
version of
the great funky Black Blood track from 1975. With the
heavy bass line and the cool percussions, this track brings in the
best from both worlds. (via Sleazybeach blogspot). Now hit the DL button & don't forget to
leave a comment if you enjoy this compilation!

DubMe

PS:
This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE
BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will
be exactly 79:59 long...

A
new Beatz & Carrots compilation. I didn't find a lot of time to
keep my blog updated during the last two months. Moving from China to
France was a big step. Feels a little like the days of living free &
wild in China are over to some degree. A new chapter in life is
starting. I am not yet sure where life will be taking me - but I am
all optimistic. The following twelve months should be interesting...
Life, work, learning, my relationship, friends... I am doing a lot of
reading at the moment, while also trying hard to get a grasp of the
french language... Nevertheless - I am always playing music - and I
will try to keep this blog running - but probably will do less
writing accompanying each post in the future (just don't find the
time for that at the moment). Just straight & simple share some
favourite music mixes/compilations of mine. Although - sometimes I
think writing a little review is also one nice way of giving some
credit to the original artist - and it's good to read something about
the music we love once in a while - because we all play/listen to so
much 'non-physical' music these days. Digital music don't have that
sexy smell of vinyl. And there is no record cover to hold in our
hands, looking at the back of the cover, reading the review, checking
the pictures, musicians, producer, label, year... Sometimes it is
worth to dig for the original vinyl - or get one of the many great
new albums or reissues which come out these days. SHOW SOME LOVE &
SUPPORT THE ARTISTS YOU
LOVE.

Nineteen new/old
songs on this Beatz & Carrots selection. We have got ''Blue
Night'' (track #3) by Hot
Chocolate - a British band which might be best known for their
biggest hit You
Sexy Thing. It's interesting to note that ''You Sexy Thing''
originally started life as the B-side of ''Blue night'' - which (at
least for me) since its release in 1975 has faded more or less into
obscurity. A nice mellow song with a bluesy feel... and that warm
bass line. Another song which deserves a special mention is ''Ramses
Nubian Bump'' (track #10) by Jupiter
Tuning Center, who has a soft spot for ''60s soundtracks, poetry
and jazz, boogie, some say rare groove, all things soulful!''. Now
mix all these together - and you will get some beautiful songs like
the one shared on this compilation or The
Gyra Grip (vibin in space).Check
out Jupiter Tuning Center's Soft
Landing which just got released on Editorial
#6: "Jupiter
Tuning Center" retouch a jazzy beauty from the past, the
"Springs" by "Pete Jolly". The original has a
special place in my jazz albums' collection. Thanks for the flight"
(via the great Just
Love Vinyls blog).Last
but not least there is Coconut Water by Karen
Be -
which I first got introduced to by the great Mixtape
Riot blog by Captain
Planet. Nice crispy song with some deep underlying bass, gentle
use of electronics - rich in sound - and Karen Be's sensual yet fiery
voice. This song might have drawn some inspiration from Marvin Gaye's
Calypso
Blues, Robert Mitchum's Coconut
Water of the same name and Calypso Mama's Gin
and Coconut Water. If you want to listen to more of Karen Be's
unique brand of jungle soul - check her new EP here.
Thanks to Atum
Management - a London based ''Artist and Sports Management
company'' - who is representing Karen Be - for sharing ''Coconut
Water'' with all of us. Check some more of Atum Managements tunes on
their soundcloud
page.

After I shared The Reggae Disco Connection in 2012 - here
is a second compilation/mix of Jamaican Disco & Boogie songs - plus a
few soulful ones thrown in for goodmeasure.
''Ting a Ling a Ling ! School bell ring and it’s back to school
again!'' - I am starting the mix with Bunny Wailer's Back To School. An unseen blend of Bunny’s
rugged rap over a fresh combination of Disco and Dub, and of course
tightly produced with the unique Jamaican touch. Originally released
on Solomonic Records in 1982. Among 18 different songs you will further get the pleasure to
listen to Al Kent's re-edit of Althea Forest & Togetherness' Hey Mister (track #5) - a
tight Jamaican Disco song with some wicked synth sounds! Released on
Crystal Records in 1976 and produced by the "more than soulful"
Reggae producer and crooner Derrick
Harriott, who was not only responsible for a string of Rocksteady
hits in the late 60ies, but also for some grooving soulful and
discofied Reggae songs in the 70ies & early 80ies. Althea Forest,
the female singer on ''Hey Mister'' is probably better known as part
of the photogenic duo Althea & Donna and their Reggae hit Uptown Top Ranking (produced by
Joe Gibbs). On track #8 we have yet another Derrick Harriot
production - the Chariot Riders' Do It Nice & Easyfrom '76. Derrick
Harriott's funky reggae cover of Eddie Drennon's Do It Nice And Easyhas some seriously
funky bass, militant drumming, bubbling guitar and cheesy disco
organ; all topped off with vocals by Derrick and his niece Kim
Harriott (via Roots From The Yard).
A real treat! Be sure to play it out LOUD. On track #11 we have a
very youthful Junior Tucker singing ''Which Side Of The Coin
(Spinning Round)''. An upbeat piece of Jamaican Disco Soul sung by
the then 14 year old Junior Tucker - who back then was also known as
the Jamaican Michael Jackson. Released as a 7inch on Top Ranking
records in 1980. I am ending this mix/compilation with Midnight by Willie Lindo. Recorded
in Jamaica in '78, "Midnight" is a subtle cover of Midnight and You by Barry White's
Love Unlimited Orchestra. Lindo's version is better than Barry's, but
decide for yourself...

If
you want to explore more discofied Reggae songs, Jamaican Boogie &
Soul give a listen to Waxist Selecta's Red Stripe Disco Series
which Waxist - a ''black music'' lover/vinyl collector from France
already started back in 2009/10. There are 8 volumes/mixes online so
far in which he sheds a light on ''rare tracks out of Jamaica or from
the Jamaican diaspora (UK, US, Canada) with a focus on disco, modern
soul & funky styles in a reggae mood. Most songs either being
recorded on the island & issued on Jamaican labels or featuring
JA musicians.'' Waxist Selector believes that there is much more to
dig, saying Reggae Disco tracks are being pretty un-explored territory. ''I keep
believing a lot of things remain pretty much unknown & to be
discovered as most of the reggae headz didn't pay attention to those
tracks at the time. The reason imo is that these tracks were too far
from the regular "reggae" sound played in the 70's, also
maybe seen as way too much into US music vein... A few JA producers
have a real soul/funk/disco influence & touch... Sometimes
versions (or b-sides) need to be checked as some nice stuffs could
pop up... And Lovers style got also a few treasures imo, yet more
modern soul oriented for most of them.'' (Via a Discogs discussion on Underground Reggae Disco Tracks.)

''First
off you need to understand that Balearic isn’t just some kind of
genre, it’s more about a vibe, a feeling and an attitude. This
might sound like some hippie shit but that’s exactly what Balearic
music is all about, it’s about being in Eivissaand
listening to Alfredowhile
you dance naked during sunrise, it’s about that feeling of total
euphoria, where there’s no problems just pure bliss (...) There
aren’t really any rules as to what can and can’t be classed as
Balearic as long as it feels right, but to me it’s usually
something sexy, sophisticated and melodic that gets your body and
mind feelin’ good.'' (Radio
Jiro)

I
am starting this compilation with a beautiful spoken word track by
Ken
Nordine over some dreamy-early-outta-space-electronics. Taken
from the RCA Living Stereo sampler Sounds
In Space - which has Ken introducing the concept of Stereo to the
listener back in 1958. If you have never heard of Ken Nordine before
- google his name - or start by listening to Yellow
from his 1967 album Colors.
Killer beat poetry/spoken word jazz! But be warned!It might alter
your view on colors forever. Track #2 - the mega rare Message
From The Stars by cult Montreal disco band Snob is a wonderful
slo-mo cosmic groover with a great female vocal taken
from their highly collectible Are
Women Snobs
album. Followed by track #3 - Electric Mind's Zwei
(Dub Version).
Nice dubby cosmic Italo Disco. Track #4 is a stripped-down,
laid-back, post-coital reworking of Fleetwood Mac's classic Rhiannon
by Baron
von Luxxury.
"This
hot tub dub version of Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' is the first in a
series of 70s and 80s re-edits I’m making from the original studio
multi tracks," says the Baron. "Each will be different
tonally, but I’m trying to keep them all vintage-y sounding,
refraining from using any (or too many) modern dancefloor tricks like
filtersweeps, bswooshes, etc. Just delay, reverb and editing''
(via discoworkout).
Go here
for more Fleetwood Mac mixes, remixes & edits. Track #5 is Mad
Professor's beautiful Fast
Forward Into Dub from his 1985 album Dub Me Crazy Part Five: Who
Knows The Secret Of The Master Tapes? Found on DJ Lexx' equally
beautiful & brilliant mix Pressure
[Mix/Jan. 2011].
Track #6 is the incredible breakbeat classic Flash
by The
Duke Of Burlington - who were an Italian combo from the late
60ies/early70s - often mixing up hard heavy piano, funky drum breaks,
choppy guitar and some nice soulful flute solos. Yeah! Next we have
the wonderful Rude
Movements by Sun Palace. Beautiful spacey midtempo Disco tune.
''Rude
Movements''
is the B-Side to a single called Winning
by Sun
Palacewho
only
put out this single under that production name. It was a huge track
in NYC
during
the days of Paradise
Garage
and The
Loft.
Track #8 is Leftside
Wobble's edit of Haunted House by Lee Oskar - a bittersweet
little slow burning funk number. Also be sure to give the original
a listen - a atmospheric roller disco classic from Danish harmonica
legend Lee Oskar. Lee is better known for his soulful playing with
War on tunes like Me
and Baby Brother and Low
Rider but here he trades strutting for suggestiveness and the
results are all the more euphoric for it. Built around a shimmering
Fender Rhodes, a whispery guitar arpeggio and an insistent slo-mo
disco beat, less is definitely more. It's all so lush and effortless
that 7 minutes scarcely feels like long enough to appreciate it and
the slightly surreal chorus makes complete sense in context. (via The
Ransom Note) Where there is a ''Haunted House'' - there must be a
''Ghost Song''! So track #9 is Jim Morrison's Ghost
Song - taken from The Doors 1978 album An
American Prayer. Seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died
members of The Doors reunited and recorded backing tracks over
Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in 1969 and 1970). Several
tracks on this album have a really nice Balearic Disco feeling to
them... One of them being ''Ghost Song''. Track #10 is the Alessi
Brothers' Seabird
- a drum-machine driven curio with intriguingly imperfect
double-tracking and wonderful lyrics. Pure sunshine bliss! Pay FLASH
STRAP a visit to listen to the rest of the Alessi Brothers first
album.
The next song is Brian
Briggs - Aeo (Pt.1 and 2) - a beautiful little gem I have no way
of describing. Sounds of fairies & elves... Perfect for listening
to on a Sunday afternoon - in your garden - surrounded by fields and
woods... Brian Briggs real name was John Holbrook and he was a
well-respected mixer and sound engineer. He worked on the Who's Tommy
& Hendrix's Electric
Ladyland
among others. "Aeo'' is taken from his album Brain
Damage
(1980). Track #12 got the Pointer Sisters covering
Fleetwood Mac's Hypnotized.
A really awesome groove to this one. Littered with stylish guitar
inflections, nonsensical but beautifully executed lyrics about
hypnosis and UFOs and eerie synth drifts inhabiting the background.
After the Pointer Sisters trip to space - track #13 takes us back to
good old mother earth: Büdi & Gumbls' Pienes
Tanz is some rare German Kraut/Prog. Dreamy and mellow... Dance
on, fly on, dream on... Somewhere deep in the forests there is a
feast. Fairies & elves are already dancing... Taken from Büdi &
Gumbls' Hmm
album from 1983. Now we are jumping straight to track #15 - the
Lovefingers Barrio edit
of Sammy Barbot's Mexico.
As I couldn't put it any better - here is what Andy Webb from Disco
Delicious says: ''I've been loving the Black
Disco series but had never heard the first volume until a few
days ago, which features this stunning low-mid tempo Hawaiian shirt
hangout tune. Give me a pineapple filled with some kind of tasty
alcohol and some ember orange sunlight to bask in, crank this up and
await heaven. Ice cool and toasty warm at the same time, this is a
huge winner. I am ending this compilation with some California
Sunshine Pop - the Beach Boys' classic California
Girls. Written by band-members Brian Wilson (who conceived the
song during an LSD trip) and Mike Love in 1965, the song reached #3
on the Billboard Hot 100.

Friday, February 1, 2013

04
- the surpremes - my world is empty without you (drop out orchestra
remix).

05
- ella & duke - caravan (lazlo remix)

06
- guts - mambo flying party

07
- the beach boys - little honda

08
- richie phoe - thriller dub 2012

09
- lionel hampton - vibramatic! (club version)

10
- flatpocket - peco

11
- la yegros - viene de mi

12
- tanya stephens - it's a pity (lulu rouge bootleg)

13
- alemayehu eshete - telantena zare

14
- dara o'neill - scribble me this

15
- velvet hammer - happy (the apple scruffs edit)

16
- randomized coffee - segunda feira na praia

17
- captain planet - chegutu

Beatz & Carrots
is back - and what better way is there to start off this first Beatz &
Carrots compilation in 2013 with Patchworks' Los Ladrones - some groovy, uptempo & uplifting music?!
And then keep going with some groovy Bossanova'ness. Track #3 is a nice Bossa
Nova cover by Lulu Joppert of MK's Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' from his 1982 album
''Thriller''. If you listen to the original by Michael Jackson you
will recognize him using a sample from Manu Dibango's 1972 classic
Soul Makossa. Can you hear
it: ''Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah". Dibango sued Jackson and
settled out of court for one million French francs. And to tie up
loose ends - it was Paulinho da Costa from Brazil
who was responsible for the percussion on Michael Jackson's original.
So here we now have a sweet Bossa Nova version. Track
#4 is a fantastic edit/remix of Diana Ross & the Supremes’ My world is Empty Without You
by Swedish disco connoisseurs Drop Out Orchestra. They themselves
call it slow-mo disco - and I couldn't say it any better: slow and
sexy with a killer bassline. On track #5 Grant Lazlo
gives his magical electro-swing
treatment to Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington's version of
Caravan - keeping it slow & dubby - but with that right extra bit
of bass & bounce to keep you swingin' & groovin' for sure!
Great version - and up there with some of my other favourite versions
of ''Caravan''. Listen here to one of the earliest
versions of ''Caravan'' - a jazz standard originally composed by Juan
Tizol - and first performed by Duke Ellington in 1936. With its
Middle Eastern beat the song creates an exotic atmosphere - leaving
the listener with images of far away places, mysterious deserts,
camels, tents... ''Caravan'' is also a favourite among many listeners
of Exotica music - and that's
also were I first got introduced to it' - listening to 80 Drums Around The World - Caravan
from the great CD Mondo Exotica
which I bought in my teen days... If you want/need an introduction to
the far-away sounds and worlds of Exotica music – ''Mondo Exotica''
is a must-have compliation - ranging from wild, to mellow, to savage
and swinging. A wonderful cross-section of the Exotica genre. With
Guts Mambo Flying Party, track #6 we
are keeping the uplifting, sometimes exotic, groovy spirit of this
compilation. This song just grows and grows on me the more I listen
to it. Here is what Guts himself has
to say about ''Mambo Flying Party'': ''During the production of an
album, sometimes you do some tunes that kind of go off road, and
don't fit with the main artistic direction... You know it, but just
for fun and sudden burst of inspiration, you finish the track...''
Track #7 - The Beach Boys' Little Honda (the blonde girl in the
video is really shakin' it!) is fun fun fun & sunshine as well.
Been listening to some Beach Boys music lately - and man! They
recorded some amazing music. And also, to ''link'' back to Exotica
music - it is said/discussed that Martin Denny and Les Baxter, two of the main figurehead
artists of the Exotica genre might have had a bit of influence on
Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys classic Pet Sounds. Read hereif you want to have a first introduction to ''Pet Sounds''. And check out The Exotica Project if you want to dig further into the realms of Exotica. On track #8 Brighton's beatsmith
Richie Phoe takes MJ's ''Thriller''
deep into the worlds of dub - making it sound like Lee Perry directed
by George A. Romero. Perfect for any dancefloor around midnight!
Listen & enjoy the eerie video here. On track #9 - old Jazz
hand Lionel Hampton tried
his luck with Vibramatic!.
A sweet electro tune from 1984. With backing
synthesizers by Fred McFarlane, 'vibramatic!' has a very Herbie
Hancock Rock It feel to
it. Also check out Tigersushi-artist Joakim's remix - which is a heavyweight
electro-boogie-dancefloor-monster. The next song - track #10 is
Flatpocket - Peco. A laidback
groovy piece of Hiphop meets Jazz in the mix! Thanks to Christophe from
Duendiness for introducing me to this
beautiful gem! Track #11 - La Yegros - Viene De Mi is a beautiful Cumbia song
from ZZK Records compilation Future Sounds Of Buenos Aires.
Yes! ZZK
Records/Club who were one of the first to start of the whole Nu-Cumbia
movement in 2007. Next (track #12) we have Lulu Rouge giving a bit of
a dubby horn (balkan?!) twist to Tanya Stephens' It's A Pity (original on the classic
Doctor Darling Riddim!). Wait & listen when the bass comes in. BOOM!
Track #13 is a sweet groover from Ethiopia: Alemayehu Eshete -Telantena Zare. Amazing
voice, awesome backbeat, strings, and horns. Ridiculously catchy. How
many Ethiopiques
compilations have been released so far? Never mind! I always seem to
find new amazing songs on them - no matter how many times I listen to
them. Track #14 - Dara O'neill's "Scribble Me This" is a jazzy,
beatdown house groover... I have no idea what Dara O’Neill is
singing about - but whatever he’s singing about - it feels good -
and comes with extreme verve and élan. Track #15 - Velvet Hammer's
Happy is a real 70's soul
dancer. Here extented/edited for our listening pleasure by The Apple Scruffs. Top notch! I am
finishing this compilation of 2013 with ''Chegutu'' from Captain Planet's Mystery Trip Vol. 1. Definitely one of my favourite releases from 2012. Beautiful song,
uplifting, sunshine! Wohuu huu huu hu...

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Spring
is around the corner - and it is about time I bring this blog back to
life, plant new musical flowers and let the birds fly free to sing
their sweet songs again... Like two months ago most d******d links on
my blog died, got deleted. After trying to re-up them - just to see
them get deleted again, I gave up - and left the blog like it was.
Since then I have been busy moving from Chengdu/China to Montpellier
in south France.

Sorry
for leaving all the various comments & request to revive dead
links unanswered. In the next few weeks I will be re-upping all the
musical content of this blog again. And if time permits I will
hopefully also share some fresh selections of some favourite music:
more balearic cosmic leftfield pop gems, some 80ies rub-a-dub and
dancehall sounds, dub, cumbia, tropikal disco and more...

On
another note... As download links seem to get deleted, I have been
thinking of going private (an idea which I don't really like too much
- as it goes against the idea of blogging & sharing.) Or ask you
to ''follow'' this blog, send me your email - so I can share links via
mail. What about encrypting files with a password - which may help
them to stay online longer? Please share your thoughts and ideas here
with me and everyone... As I do not have the financial
options to pay for a file host - I have to relay on free options. If
you know of any good ones - please let me know. For the moment I
consider using depositfiles and zippyshare...

Thanks
- and - I will be back with more new compilations soon - as well as
trying to re-up a few of the older selections every day.